Bid to oust MP fails

An Ulster Unionist party bid to oust a Sinn Fein MP from her seat over alleged republican polling station intimidation was today rejected by a judge in Belfast's high court.

James Cooper, the defeated UUP candidate in the Fermanagh and South Tyrone Westminster contest, brought the action after claiming votes were cast for his Sinn Fein rival Michelle Gildernew after the ballot boxes should have been closed.

But in a judgment issued today Lord Chief Justice Sir Robert Carswell insisted any disturbances at the polling station in Garrison, Co Fermanagh, were isolated and had only a small effect on the outcome.